Firearm



Sept Z2, w42. N. L.. BREWER FIREARM Filed Feb. l, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sep@ 22 w@ N. L. @Ram/ER FIREARM Filed Feb. l, 194BPatented Sept. 22, 1942 FIREARM Nicholas L. Brewer, East Longmeadow,Mass., as-

signor to Savage Arms Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation ofDelaware Application February 1, 1940, Serial No. 316,752

'1 Claims.

This invention relates to repeating guns.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide certain improvementin what may be roughly considered the rear end of the action of arepeating gun, and particularly to provide new and improved mechanismincluding in some of the combinations the rearward part of the breechbolt, the hammer slidingly mounted in the receiver to the rear of thebreech bolt, and the assembly with said hammer of a hammer spring and abreech bolt spring concentrically mounted about a guide rod.

A further purpose is to provide a new and improved form of hammer andhammer spring and breech bolt spring mounted longitudinally through thecenter of said hammer and in turn guided by a guide rod, with means onsaid guide rod for holding both said springs in place both when mountedin the gun and also when the hammer and assemblage of springs and guiderod are removed from the receiver of the gun.

A further purpose is to provide an improved combination of ring pin,hammer and breech bolt, and in further combinations also including thehammer spring and the breech bolt spring, and further to have saidfiring pin operate as the means for connecting and aligning the hammerand breech bolt when these parts are within the gun.

A further purpose is to provide a new and improved and simplied form oftransversely extending bolt or handle for the breech bolt adapted tooperate and especially to retract the breech bolt manually when that isrequired, and to have said transverse handle bolt further adapted tofunction as a means for locking the breech bolt in forward position orin rearward position.

Further purposes are to provide new and improved constructions of theseveral parts above named, and improved ways of connecting and combiningthe said parts for economy in manufacture, convenience in assembling andefficiency in operation.

A further purpose is to provide a new and improved construction whereinthe breech bolt, hammer, ring pin, hammer spring and breech bolt springand guide rod for said two springs are readily removed by the removal ofa screwthreaded recoil plug at the rear end of the receiver, with saidsprings and spring guide still assembled when so removed.

A further purpose is to provide a new and improved and very convenientmanner of constructing and assembling the action of a semi-automatic gunso thatthe action may be easily taken out and cleaned and as readilyreplaced or assembled without the use of tools.

Further purposes and advantages will be apparent from the specificationand claims hereinafter set forth.

Fig. 1 is a view mostly in longitudinal central section of the `materialportion of the action of a rifle 0f the semi-automatic type embodyingthis invention, the rie being seen from the right hand side and theparts being in the position they occupy when the rifle is cocked.\

Fig. 2 is a side elevation as seen from the right hand side, of thebreech bolt, hammer, iring pin, hammer spring, breech bolt spring andguide rod for said springs in the relative position they occupy in Fig.l.

Fig. 3 is a top or plan view of the breech bolt, firing pin and hammeras seen when in the position they occupy in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 is a view in right hand side elevation of the parts seen in Fig.2 but after the rie has been red and with the hammer and firing pin inextreme forward position but before the firing of the cartridge hasdriven the breech bolt, hammer and ring pin from their forward position.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the forward half of thereceiver and adjacent parts in side elevation and showing the parts ofthe action in the position they occupy after the ring has driven thehammer, breech-bolt and firing pin to extreme rearward position andafter these parts have gone forward a very short distance until thehammer and ring pin are temporarily arrested by the detent plunger ofthe release mechanism but before the breech bolt has gone any furtherforward.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the hammer as seen from the right handside and Fig. 7 is a rear end view thereof.

Fig. 8 is a right side elevational view of the breech bolt.

Fig. 9 is a rear end View of said breech bolt and Fig. l0 is across-sectional view thereof on line Ill-I0 of Fig. 8. l

Figs. 11 and l2 are respectively a top or plan View and a right sideelevation of the ring pin 24.

Fig. 13 is a side View of the end portions of the breech-bolt spring andof the hammer spring mounted upon the spring guide rod 30, but minus thehammer and with the middle portion 0f the outer, that is, the hammerspring still further removedin lorder to clearly show the breechboltspring.

Fig. 14 is a side view of the guide rod 30.

Fig. l5 is a rear elevation of the combined operating handle and lockingbolt which extends transversely of the breech bolt and receiver.

Fig. 16 is a top or plan view of said handle and locking bolt. l

Fig. 17 is a rear side elevation of said handle and locking bolt and asectional view on the center of said handle bolt through the breechbolt, receiver and firing pin, on the line of either locking position ofthe breech bolt, with the said handle in outward position so that thebreech bolt can be operated thereby or by the firing of the gun.

Fig. 18 is a view similar to Fig. 17 but with the said handle in inwardor locking position.

Referring to the drawings in a more particular 'description it will beseen that the invention is illustrated in connection with asemi-automatic rie of the blow-back 'type and that said riiie includes abarrel 20 of the usual type to the rear end of which is securelyfastened a. rearwardly extending hollow receiver 2i in the chamber oft,which is slidingly mounted the breech-bolt 22 and to the rear of saidbolt the hammer 23 with a ring pin 24 having its forward end slidinglymounted in a longitudinal groove in said breech bolt and with the rearend of said firing 'pin fixed to travel with said hammer as `bylaterally extending fingers 25 near the rear end of said firing pinprojecting into pockets 26 provided in the upper side of said hammer.

The rearward end of said receiver is closed by a recoil plug 21screw-threaded into the rear end of the chamber of said receiver. Thisplug is bored out at its l*forward side to form a pocket into whichprojects the rearward end of the hammer spring 28 and also the rear endof the breech bolt spring 29, said springs being of thevhelical form andconcentrically arranged about the guide rod 30.

It will be understood that the rifle is equipped with some proper -formof magazine for the cartridges such as a tubular magazine 3i mountedbelow the barrel and with a rproper cartridge feeding device such asillustrated in the drawings by the magazine box 32, the swinging lifter33 and other parts cooperating therewith as by parts upon the lower sideof the forward half of the breech bolt operating as the breech bolt iscarried backward by the firing of the gun to extract the shell of thefired cartridge from the 'bore of the barrel and to eject the said shellfrom the receiver and to raise a cartridge that has come back from thecartridge magazine up into the receiver more or less into line with thebore of the barrel so that upon the forward movement of the breech boltthe cartridge is pushed into the bore of said barrel and the breech boltbrought into closed position at the rear of said barrel and directlyybehind said cartridge. No further detailed description of these partsor of these operations is deemed necessary as neither the form of themagazine nor the form or operation of the feeding mechanism nor the formof the part of the breech bolt cooperating with said feed mechanismconstitute any part of my present invention and my invention is capableof being used with various forms of magazines and with various forms offeed mechanisms and various forms of yconstruction of the breech bolt inits cooperation with the feed mechanism including thereunder theextraction and ejection of the fired shell and the return of the breechbolt to closed position having meanwhile pushed the new cartridge intoits position in the bore of the barrel.

It will be seen that the breech bolt has at its upper side a wide slot36 extending for the whole length of said breech block for the slidingmounting therein of the main substantially rectangular portion 31 of thefiring pin. Projecting still further from the bottom of the wide slot 36is a narrower slot 38 for the lengthwise travel therein of the n or keyportion 39 depending from the forward half of the said firing pin asbest seen in Fig. 12. The forward part of this fin or key upon the ringpin extends forwardly beyond the rectangular portion thereof and itsfront end constitutes the firing point 40 of said firing pin. Extendingcentrally of the breech bolt from its rearward end there is provided a.bore 4I through which may travel as required the guide rod 30 andparticularly its enlarged head Y42 at its for- '4 ward end, therearwardly facing projecting shoulder of which head'acts as a means forretaining upon the said guide rod the forward washer 43. Adjacent therear end of the breech bolt said bore is enlarged for a short distanceforming a rearwardly facing shoulder 44 adapted to hold said forwardwasher 43 at the rear end of the breech bolt while Iallowing the head ofthe said spring guide rod 30 to slide through said washer :nd as far asneeded into the bore of the breech olt.

The hammer 23 is annular in form and slidingly mounted in the chamber ofthe receiver 2l to the rear of the breech bolt. This hammer has alongitudinally extending bore 46 of large enough diameter to freelyreceive therein as much as needed of the hammer spring 28. Extendinginto this bore adjacent the forward end of the hammer, the hammer isprovided with a small annular inwardly extending flange 41 the rear faceof which forms a shoulder 48 to engage the forward end of the hammerspring and so in an obvious manner place said hammer spring undercompression as the hammer is moved back either by the regular firing ofthe gun or by the rearward manual moving of the breech bolt. The annularflange 41, however, has its aperture large enough to allow the freepassage therethrough of the breech bolt spring 23 and of its withinlocated guide rod 3D. The forward washer 43 is larger than the openingin the said flange 41 at the front ofthe hammer so that neither the saidforward washer 43 nor the head 42 of the spring guide rod 30 can pass tothe rear of the front face of the said hammer. The rear end of the twosprings upon said guide rod 30 are retained upon said guide rod by arear washer 49 which in turn is held against the rear end of said rod asby the rear extremity of said rod being made smaller in diameter thanthe regular diameter of the said rod so as to form a shoulder againstwhich the washer bears while the smaller diametered extremity of the rodprojects through the hole in the washer, and then the extreme end of therod is riveted over against the rear face of the washer. In the upperside of the hammer there is provided a longitudinally extending slot 50corresponding with and in alignment with the slot 36 in the breech boltfor-receiving the m-ain nearly rectangular portion 31 of the firing pin24 and ,from this slot 50 there project laterally the two pockets 26 toreceive the two laterally extending fingers 25 already mentioned asbeing provided upon the firing pin near its rear end.

It will now be seen that the firing pin 24 is mounted to travel withsaid hammer simply by the rear part of said firing pin being set downinto the slot 50 of the hammer with the fingers of the said firing pinlikewise resting down into the pockets 26 of the hammer. It will be seenalso that these two parts will be secured in relative position as longas they are in place in the chamber of the receiver, but that they canbe readily separated when these two parts are withdrawn from the rear ofthe receiver after the recoil plug 21 has been removed. Similarly itwill be seen that the forward end of the firing pin can slide back andforth relative to the breech bolt and that when the hammer is advancedto its forward position relative to the breech bolt the front end orfiring point 40 of said firing pin will project the required slightdistance into the head space of the breech bolt and so into firingposition assuming that the breech bolt is in its forward position.

'I'he trigger 64 and its associated release mechanism shown in Figs. 1and 5 of the drawings herein are the subject of a separate patentapplication filed by me March 10, 1939, as Serial No. 261,021, and areshown here only for the purpose of illustrating an operativegun. 'I'hedetails of said release mechanism will not need on the lower portion ofthe hammer 23, being f respectively contact face 55 at the forward endof the hammer and face 52 near the rearward part thereof, so as toobtain a temporary holding of the hammer in a position slightly back ofits cocked position by detent plunger 56 engaging face 52 andthereafter, and after the shooters finger has been released from thelinger piece of the trigger to allow the hammer to advance slightly tococked position where it is held by the release plunger 51 engaging saidcontact face 55.

In Figs. 15 to 18 inclusive there are shown several views of thecombined ,operating handle and locking bolt 10, which bolt and handleconsists of a shank portion 1|, preferably circular in cross section,and of uniform size throughout its length except for the notchhereinafter mentioned, an annular collar 12 at the right hand end ofsaid shank as the parts are seen in Figs. 15 to 18,

and further to the right a short neck portion 13 and at its extremeright hand end an enlargement or knob 1li, the peripheral portion ofwhich is knurled for convenient and positive engagement by the hand orfingers and thumb of the shooter. The shank portion of this combined ilocking bolt and handle is slidingly mounted in a hole 15 extendingtransversely through the breech bolt 22 about midway its length, saidhole being of a size and shape to have said shank portion snugly butslidingly move therein. Preferably the hole 15 in the breech bolt willbe arranged in such a way as to have said handle and locking boltsubstantially horizontal when the gun is held in normal firing position.

In alignment with this hole 15 in the breech bolt there is provided anelongated slot 16 on the right hand side of the receiver extendingentirely through the wall of said right hand side of the receiver andextending far enough forward to allow the breech bolt to go to itsextreme forward position without the projecting portion of said lockingbolt striking the forward end of said slot 16 and extending far enoughto the rear to allow 'the breech b olt to go to its extreme rearwardposition without the outwardly projecting portion of said locking handlestriking the rear end of said slot 16. In lne with the shank 1| of saidlocking bolt and handle when said breech bolt is at its extreme forwardposition there is provided a hole through the left hand wall of thereceiver of a size to readily but snugly receive the left hand end ofthe said shank when said locking bolt and handle is moved from itsordinary non-locking position as shown in Fig. 17 to its lockingposition as shown in Fig. 18. When the locking bolt is thus moved to theleft to the position shown in Fig. 18 it will be obvious that the lefthand end of the shank 1| by closely fitting the hole 11 in the receiver2l operates to lock the breech bolt in forward position, which lockedposition may be utilized under several circumstances and particularlywill be used when it is desired to have the gun function as a singleshot hand-operated gun instead of a semi-automatic gun adapted toextract and eject the shell of the fired cartridge and bring a newcartridge into line with the barrel, all on the rearward movement of thebreech bolt automatically when the gun is functioning as asemi-automatic gun.

By withdrawing the locking bolt to the right from its locking positionas shown in Fig. 18 to its unlocking or normal operating position asshown in Fig. 17 it will be obvious that the shank portion 1l of thelocking bolt no longer engages the left hand wall of the receiver 2|adjacent the forward hole 11, and therefore the breech bolt is free tobe moved either by hand operation of the knob 14 of the locking bolt andhandle or by the power from the explosion of the cartridge in thebarrel.

In alignment with the shank of said locking bolt when the breech bolt isin extreme rearward position there is provided in the left hand wall ofthe receiver a rearward locking hole 18 into which the left hand end ofthe said locking bolt may be shoved by the hand of the shooter. It willbe understood of course that in this automatic gun or in any gun havinga spring for returning the breech bolt to forward position the breechbolt will have to be held in rearward position by the shooter againstthe power of said `breech bolt spring tending to move the breech boltforwardly from such rearward position. Of course `when the gun isfunctioning as a semiautomatic gun the rearward movement of the breechbolt takes place with such lightning-like rapidity and is followedimmediately with a very quick forward motion of the breech bolt so thatthe shooter cannot in practice intercept the breech bolt at its rearwardposition by manipulating the knob of the locking handle. Ordinarily theputting of the breech bolt into locked condition at its rear position isaccomplished by manually retracting the breech bolt by manipulating saidknob and then while the breech bolt is forcibly held in retractedposition, pushing the knob 14 to the left until the left-hand end of thelocking bolt engages the left-hand wall of the receiver adjacent thesaid rearward locking hole 18 therein. Preferably the edge formed bycutting the elongated slot 16 through the cylindrical wall of thereceiver will be trimmed down to form a face 19 engaging the fiat innerface of the collar 12, and this face 19 will be continued around the twosemi-circular ends of the slot by cutting away the material of thereceiver at the semi-circular zones 8| so as to allow ample clearancefor the extreme forward and rearward movement of said locking bolt.

As already described the firing pin 24 has its lower portion in the formof a iin or key portion 39 which is thinner than the main portion of thehammer and projects down into the narrower slot 38 provided in thebreech bolt below the wide slot 3G in the breech bolt. This fin or keyportion extends down into the transverse notch or cut 82 provided aboutmidway of the clear portion of the shank 'l0 of the combined handle andlocking bolt. The notch or Cut 82 is purposely made wide enough, that isextends longitudinally of the shank far enough and is so placed on theshank of the said locking bolt as to allow the locking bolt to be movedfrom non-locking position as shown in Fig. 17 to locking position asshown in Fig. 18. This key portion 39 therefore serves as a means forretaining the said locking bolt in the gun against accidentaldisplacement as long as the hammer is in its telescoping positionrelative to the breech bolt and both are within the receiver.

The action of the gun is taken apart by first removing thescrew-threaded recoil plug 2l from the rear end of the breech bolt andthen removing first the hammer and the inter-locked firing pin togetherwith the two springs and the spring guide rod through the open rear endof the receiver and then withdrawing the locking bolt 'I8 from thebreech bolt and then removing the breech bolt rearwardly through theopen rear end of the receiver. The parts will be reassembled byinserting rst the breech bolt in the receiver, then inserting the shankof the locking bolt crosswise thereof and then inserting the hammer andfiring pin, taking care to have the I cross arms of the ring pin inalignment with the pockets in the hammer and when these two parts areplaced in the receiver to have the firing pin go through the large sloton the top of the breech bolt.

When the parts are so taken out of the receiver it will be noted thatthe hammer and breech bolt springs will remain mounted upon the guiderod and the hammer will also be mounted about the two springs and theguide rod. This is a definite convenience in that it avoids the commonnuisance heretofore of the springs expanding and jumping away from eachother and the surrounding parts as soon as they are removed from thereceiver. The springs are under some tension even when removed from theaction but on account of their being securely retained upon the guiderod and connected to the hammer these parts may be readily inserted inthe proper order and in the proper position when the gun is to bereassembled. All of this assembling or disassembling it will be noticedcan be accomplished without the use of any tools,

It will be seen that the recoil plug idirectly engages the rear end ofthe guide rod and its rearward washer and through this washer takes thestrain at the rear end of the hammer spring and breech bolt springthrough to the said plug. The shock or jar of this engagement isprevented from loosening the screw-threaded recoil plug through thefollowing retaining means, namely,

a circular hole 83 is provided extending in a diagonal direction fromthe forward face 84 of the larger diametered part or outwardly.projecting knurled collar 85 of said recoil plug. The outer end of thiscircular hole or socket 83 faces toward the rear end 86 of the receiver,and the inner portion of this end 8B of the receiver is provided with aplurality of spaced notches 8l. In the socket 83 is placed a coiledspring 88. Over the outer end of this spring is placed a metal ball 89,which ball may in an obvious manner spring into one of the notches 8l asthe recoil plug gets screwed up to about its ultimate place ofadjustment. The ball is conveniently retained in the ball socket orcircular hole 83 by staking in slightly the adjacent part of the plug sothat when the plug is removed the ball and spring will still be retainedin their socket.

The particular form of the feed mechanism shown in Figs. l and 5 of thedrawings constitutes the subject matter of a separate application led byme in the United States Patent Oice the 16th day of February, 1940, asSerial No. 319,303, and is shown here only for the purpose ofillustrating an operative gun.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a firearm, the combination of a spring lguide rod having at itsrear end a xed enlargement and having at its front end a head, a Washerlarger than said head and slidingly mounted on the front end of theguide rod, a helical breech bolt spring mounted slldingly on said rod, ahelical hammer spring mounted on said rod outside said breech boltspring and freely movable thereover, a hammer having a borelongitudinally thereof large enough for the sliding therein of saidhammer spring except at the forward end of the hammer where the bore isreduced forming an inwardly extending flange stopping the forwardmovement therethrough of said hammer spring, but with said flange havinga central opening therethrough large enough for the breech bolt springto move therethrough, said flange on the front end ofthe hammerarresting rearward movement of the washer on the front end of the guiderod.

2." In a firearm the combination of a spring guide rod having a head atits front end, a washer larger than said head and slidingly mounted onthe front end of the guide rod, a helical breech bolt spring slidinglymounted on said rod, a helical hammer spring mounted on said rod outsidesaid breech bolt spring and freely movable thereover, a washer fixedlysecured to the rear end of said rod and engaging the rear end of bothsaid springs, a hammer mounted about said springs by having alongitudinal bore large enough for the sliding therein of said hammerspring, an inwardly extending flange at the front end of said hammerbore stopping the forward movement therethrough of said hammer springbut with said flange having a central opening large enough for thebreech bolt spring to move therethrough, said flange arresting rearwardmovement therethrough of said loose washer located on the front end ofthe guide rod.

3. In a firearm, the combination of a receiver having a guideway, abreech bolt slidingly mounted therein and having a longitudinal boreextending into its rear end, a hammer slidingly mounted in said guidewayto the rear of said breech bolt and having a bore longitudinal thereofin alignment with the said bore in the breech bolt, a helical breechbolt spring extending from the rear of the breech bolt and rearwardlythrough the bore of the hammer, a helical hammer spring surrounding saidbreech bolt spring and freely movable relative thereto, an inwardlyextending flange at ythe front end of the hammer bore and arresting thefront end of the hammer spring but allowing the breech bolt spring tomove therethrough, a rod for guiding said springs and'located withinsaid inner or breech bolt spring and having a head at its front end, awasher larger than said head and slidingly mounted on the forward partof said rod and engaging the front end of the breech bolt spring andengaging the front end of the hammer adjacent the said flange on thehammer, said sliding washer engaging the rear end of the breech bolt andallowing the front part of the guide rod to slide through the washer andinto the bore oi' the breech bolt while the said washer by engaging therear of the breech bolt holds the front end of the breech bolt spring.

4. In a iirearm the combination oi' a receiver having a chamberextending to its rear end, a breech bolt and a longitudinally boredhammer both slidingly mounted in said receiver, a spring guide rod, abreech bolt spring and a hammer spring concentrically mounted about saidspring guide rod and all said last mentioned three elements beingpermanently assembled with the hammer and partly housed within andprojecting longitudinally from said bore oi' the hammer, and a recoilplug detachably secured to the rear end of the receiver and forming whenin place a `rear supporti'or both said springs and a stop for said guiderod so that when said plug is removed irom the receiver said springs,guide rod and hammer may be readily removed as a permanent assembly ofsaid parts from the opened `rear end of the receiver and as such anassembly .of parts may be readily reinserted into the opened rear end ofthe receiver.

5. In a firearm the combination oi a receiver having a chamber extendingto its rear end. a breech bolt and a longitudinally bored hammer bothslidingly mounted in said receiver. a spring guide rod, a breech boltspring and a hammer spring concentrically mounted about said springguide rod and all said last mentioned three elements being permanentlyassembled with the hammer and partly housed within and projectinglongitudinally from said bore ofA the hammer, and a recoil plugldetachably secured to the rear end of the receiver and forming when inplace a rear support for both said springs and a stop for said guide rodso that when said plug is removed from the' receiver said springs. guiderod and hammer may be readily removed as a permanent assembly ot saidparts from the opened rear end o! the receiver and as such an assemblyot parts may be readily reinserted into the opened rear end o! thereceiver, said breech bolt being also removable and reinsertable throughsaid opened rear end of the receiver.

6. In a rearm the combination of a receiver having a chamber extendingto its rear end, a

breech bolt and a longitudinally bored hammer both slidingly mounted insaid receiver, a iiring pin detachably secured to the said hammer andsliding in the breech bolt, a spring guide rod, a

breech bolt spring and a hammer spring concensaid springs, guide rod andhammer may be readv ily removed as a permanent assembly of said partsfrom the opened rear end of the receiver and as such an assembly ofparts may be readily reinserted into the opened rear end oi' thereceiver, said breech bolt and iiring pin being also removable andreinsertable through said opened rear end of the receiver. l

'1. In a firearm the combination oi' Ya receiver having a chamberextending to its rear end, a

breech bolt and a longitudinally bored hammer both slidingly mounted insaid receiver, a spring guide rod. a breech 1bolt spring and a hammerspring concentrically mounted about said spring guide rod and all saidlast mentioned three elements being .permanently assembled with thehammer and partly housed within and projecting longitudinally from saidbore of the hammer,

and a recoil plug screw-threaded -to the rear end l of the receiver andforming when in place a rear support for both said springs and a stopfor said guide rod so thatwhen said plug is removed from the receiversaid springs, guide rod and hammer may be readily removed as apermanentA assemly oi said parts from the opened rear end of thereceiver and as such an assembly of parts may be readily reinserted intothe opened rear end ot the receiver, said breech bolt being alsoremovable and reinsertable through said opened rear end oi the receiver,and a device holding said recoil plug from accidentally unscrewing fromthe receiver.

NICHOLAS L. BREWER.

